This invention relates to a container for a fire extinguisher of a type which is particularly but not exclusively designed for mounting on a suitable support structure in an exposed environment, for example outside adjacent an area to be protected.
It is becoming more important under the present conditions of environmental and safety awareness to provide fire extinguishers at all areas where danger of a fire can occur for example adjacent fuel tanks, oil and gas equipment, and the like.
Previous designs have been proposed for fire extinguisher containers which hold the fire extinguisher in a protected manner but allow it to be readily accessible for use. However, generally these designs have been somewhat unsatisfactory and there remains certainly an opportunity for an improved design which will provide significant enhanced features to make it more suitable for the purpose.
One example of a fire extinguisher housing is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,791 (Pokryfke et al.) which discloses a shallow container with a semicylindrical rear wall which is mounted in a support wall in an indentation in the wall. A semicylindrical inner housing is mounted in the outer housing for rotation about a vertical axis with the inner housing receiving the fire extinguisher therein. The fire extinguisher is exposed by rotating the inner housing from an initial closed to an open position in which the inner housing is turned through 180.degree. to expose the inside surface of the inner housing and the fire extinguisher.
However, this device has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the mounting system within a wall cavity makes it very restricted in the possible location of use. Secondly, the design has a number of serious disadvantages in that it does not properly protect against the environment in that it will allow the entry of moisture in the form of rain or snow, which when frozen could seriously interfere with the opening of the device. The housing is therefore probably only suitable for an interior location.
Other examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,067,822 (Hattenhauer); 4,046,439 (Lee); 4,548,274 (Simpson) and 4,763,732 (Neal).
The patents of Lee, Neal and Hattenhauer each describe an arrangement in which there is a housing which is substantially rectangular including a hollow box section defining a rear part and a front door. Devices of this type are highly unsatisfactory in that the door can be difficult to open and can be dangerous in high wind conditions thus interfering with the ready access of the user to the fire extinguisher.
The Simpson device comprises a decorative enclosure which is intended to be opened by a sliding front door on detection of an alarm condition. An arrangement of this type might be highly attractive but is completely impractical in an exterior location where it is difficult to detect the alarm condition and where the device is open to the environment.